


Late Starts

by twitch



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Brendol Hux's A+ Parenting, Child Neglect, Gen, Heat Stroke, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-06-11 13:12:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15316227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twitch/pseuds/twitch
Summary: A heatwave covers the city yet Brendol expects his front yard to look immaculate. Armitage looks after the yard. Someone else looks after him.





	Late Starts

**Author's Note:**

> Slightly late submission for Week 2 of the Kylux Summer Fest. For a while I didn't know what to submit, not wanting to be overly influenced by the awesome fics already submitted. So here I am, adapting an idea that I started a couple of weeks ago on Tumblr. 
> 
> Prompts used: Heat / First Times / High

In a move that he would deny, had anyone been watching him, he licked the moisture beading along his upper lip, salty and sadly lacking for his dry mouth. Closing his eyes against the bright sun, scorching his forehead, seeping through his whole body, he stumbled forward from driveway to lawn.

He’d been outside since before eight. The heatwave assaulting the city was unkind at the best of times but on a Saturday morning, the one day he really had free, waking up early sounded like a smart idea. It had been cooler but as the hours passed, the midday sun high over head, the heat returned as he slaved away.

Hux huffed under his breath. Huffed some more with each yank of the cord, nearly growling when the lawnmower finally cooperated, sputtering to life. 

Inside his dad enjoyed the air conditioning. Outside he tended to the house. His dad was a proud man, took pleasure in keeping the yard immaculate, yet he didn’t put forth any ounce of effort into tending the lawn or gardens. Whether he truly was ill, or had simply let himself enjoy the efforts his son did for him over the years and had turned soft and bloated as a result, he was in no condition to do yard work. The winters were hard on his arthritic bones. He was allergic to pollen. The summers too hot to spend too long outside. Hux couldn’t remember what his excuse for autumn was. Perhaps it was the arthritis again. Whatever it meant was that he shovelled in the winter, planted in the spring, cleaned the brush and leaves in the fall, and mowed the lawn, weeded, clipped and did whatever else was needed the rest of the time. 

On this hot Saturday morning, leaning over into afternoon, he had forgotten to bring his water bottle outside with him. He tried going back into the house but his dad refused to let his dirty and stinking body into the house until he was finished. 

He began with vigor and determination, ready to get all of it done as soon as possible. 

The heat swelling across the neighbourhood slowed him down in no time. 

The weeds were in the yard waste bag, flattened by the clippings he had taken off the bushes. The lawnmower thrummed and rattled away while he pushed it over the lawn, louder than the buzzing in his head. His pale skin required that he had to wear a shirt all the time, otherwise no amount of sunscreen could protect him from burning. Not only that, but this morning he would’ve sweat it clean off his body in no time. 

His shirt and shorts clung to his body, his back and thighs tacky. 

As soon as he got the front yard done he could mow the backyard and he’d be done. Finally. 

He wasn’t sure if it was a misstep. The grass could’ve been wet from his sweat. Or perhaps it was another stumble. Whatever the case was his feet disobeyed his command and he went sprawling.

The mocking sun fled from his vision, bringing into focus the dried patches of green, darkening to black. 

 

“Careful Ben.”

The lawnmower didn’t rattle. He could hear a light whir from somewhere around him. He wasn’t quite sure what it was, thinking it was one of the neighbours using a lawn edger. That couldn’t be right, not only because he actually felt cool, but he didn’t have the grass scratching his arms or legs. 

When he opened his eyes he recognised the face watching him. Dark eyes and darker hair. His mind was too sluggish to put a name to the boy and soon someone was pushing the boy away. A woman with similar features smiled but something about her looked grim.

“You gave us quite a scare,” she said, a cloth clenched between her hands. 

Hux tried to sit up but a shake of her head stopped him. He tried easing back, realising that the soft surface underneath him was a couch, but it wasn’t one he was familiar with. The family room wasn’t theirs, his father not giving him a dirty look for spreading his sweaty body across the furniture. “Where…” His voice was a croak, the word sounding nothing like what it should’ve. 

“Ben brought you inside, he saw you fall.” She explained. Hux tried turning his head but now that he was awake a headache flared with the movement. Instead he blinked towards the boy at his side. Crouched down beside him the boy, Ben Solo he now remembered, looked so small, eyes wide with worry. It was funny to see him looking like this, knowing he stood a good inch or two taller than him. Ben handed him a glass of water which he gladly took, yet Ben kept his hand around the glass, steadying it and preventing him from drinking more than a slurp. “You were so hot, you’d passed out. We needed to cool you down, so I took off your shirt-”

It was his turn for his eyes to widen, looking past the glass and Ben’s hand, to his bare chest and stomach. There were damp towels rolled up and pressed to his body, including one between his arm and the side of his body. He wanted to squirm for the wet sensation but it did feel blessedly cool, yet so wrong. Had his dad seen him rushed inside the Solo’s house? “I’ve got to get going. I need to finish the yard work.”

“You just had heatstroke!” Ben interjected, scowling at him in disbelief. 

“You need to rest. Your work can wait,” Ben’s mom insisted, her own gaze darkening too. Hux tried to relax but found that he couldn’t, not just for the hard look she was giving him but also for being half-naked. “I’m getting more towels, Ben, make sure he drinks that water slowly.” 

Going to squeeze his temples, feeling his headache throb under his fingertips, he glanced to Ben again. “Can I at least sit up a little?” 

“Sure.” Ben helped him, hand cool but also wide against his ribs, helping him to sit up, back braced against the arm of the couch. Ben even grabbed a pillow, fluffing it up and positioning it behind him. Hux swallowed, the additional movement making his stomach churn. “I can get you something for your headache.” 

“Ben.” Ben had stood up but his gaze twitched down to him. “Why are you doing this?”

“You were in trouble,” Ben explained, wringing his fingers around the glass before setting it on the table beside the couch. “I saw you – you fell while mowing the lawn, and you didn’t get up. If something was wrong-”

“It wouldn’t have been the first time,” Hux countered, frowning inwardly. He wasn’t looking for an argument, he was grateful for the help, but he’d known Ben since Brendol moved them into the neighbourhood ten years ago. Shared classes with him. “This is the first time we’ve said more than five words to each other.”

A weak chuckle escaped Ben’s lips and Hux couldn’t look away. 

Ben’s words lingered in his mind after he left the room. 

“Better late then never.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you wish you can follow me on [Tumblr](http://centurytwitch.tumblr.com).


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